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Continue reading →: Dooneen by Keith Ridgway
Irish Literature – Published June 2026 A writer travels from his home in London to attend literary festival in his native Dublin, but he arrives to mayhem in the city. There is barely any traffic, no private vehicles, just trams and ‘clickers’, a sort of moving sidewalk, now provide the…
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Continue reading →: At the beach in GrøtfjordI’ve spent the last few days at the beach at Grøtfjord which is about forty minutes from the town of Tromso. When I arrived there were just a handful of other vans. The local community asks for 10 euros to stay directly on the beach. A rarity for this summer,…
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Continue reading →: The End of Everything by M. John Harrison
British Literature – published June 2026 This bold, experimental and thoroughly enjoyable short novel concerns an alien invasion of Britain set in the near future. The iGhetti have arrived, albeit slowly and steadily and in a variety of forms to British shores. Sometimes they cause havoc in daily life and…
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Continue reading →: Tomma to Skarstad: battle with the E6With a storm approaching, I left Tomma Beach by the first ferry on Monday morning. It would have been good to stay a couple more days, but the beach on the west coast was very exposed; I’ve been in such places before, and it doesn’t make for a restful experience. …
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Continue reading →: Booker Longlist Announcement – some hopes rather than predictions..
It’s the Booker Longlist announcement next Tuesday, and I have been just looking back at what I have read that is likely to have a chance. They are is ascending order as regards my own enjoyment of them.. I’m keen to hear if anyone else has read anything they think…
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Continue reading →: Medea Sang Me A Corrdio by Dahlia de la Cerda
translated from the Spanish (Mexico) by Heather Cleary and Julia Sanches – published June 2026 De la Cerda is a young Mexican writer to watch. Here she follow the excellent Reservoir Bitches with a similarly structured novel that once again highlights an issue important to her; in RB it was…
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Continue reading →: HelgelandSince he was three months old, Rua has humped his bed, the deep red blanket under the table beneath my bookcase. It’s normal puppy behaviour I believe. It’s a sign to me that he needs some exercise, so after I’ve finished what I’m doing I usually take him out. This…
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Continue reading →: All That Effort, Just to Get Out of the Heat..It’s taking a big effort to get out of this heat. As is no doubt evident, I’m one of those who doesn’t like these last few weeks of the heatwave across most of Europe. It was a bit easier to deal with in Cumbria, where I turned the van to…
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Continue reading →: The DepartureThe heat of the previous week dropped off a little over the weekend, and there was a pleasant easterly breeze, rather a wind at times. Nick and Lou like it hot, so it was something of a compromise, besides their house and garden are well-shaded. We enjoyed the weekend; socialised…
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Continue reading →: Rua’s First Course
It’s been a few busy weeks of work but still possible to spend time with Rua for some basic training and socialising. On a typical work day he has had a walk in the morning, often down to the river, especially when it was hot, then time playing in the…
To live more widely
supera superiora sequi
SafeReturnDoubtful is my alias. Rua is my fox red labrador pup, born 14 Feb 2026 and learning fast..
Where is Rua?
I was so much older then…
Quote of the Week
Alice asked the Cheshire Cat, who was sitting in a tree, ‘What road do I take?’ The cat asked, ‘Where do you want to go?’ ‘I don’t know,’ Alice answered. ‘Then,’ said the cat, ‘it really doesn’t matter, does it?’
Lewis Carroll
Safe Return Doubtful 